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[0:00] ♪ Musical number: "When Lightning Strikes" — performed by Unknown performer ♪

[0:26] Jeryl Brunner: Hi, this is Jeryl Brunner, and you're listening to When Lightning Strikes, where we talk about the tingly, heart-stopping, mic drop moments that led you to becoming an artist.

[0:39] Mandy Gonzalez: Mandy Gonzalez is an Obie and Drama Desk-winning singer, actress, and author. She is so ferociously talented and has such a fierce belt that she was nicknamed "The Beast." Mandy stars on Broadway in Hamilton as Angelica Schuyler and also originated the role of Nina Rosario in the Tony-winning Broadway musical In The Heights. Mandy played Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked and is also a Warner Music artist and released her chart-topping debut album, “Fearless.” She can also be seen as Lucy Knox in Madam Secretary. Mandy is the proud founder of #FearlessSquad, a social media movement for inclusiveness and positivity which connects millions of people around the world. She just released her first children's book, Fearless, about twelve-year-old Monica Garcia who travels to New York City with her grandmother to pursue her Broadway dream.

[1:50] Jeryl Brunner: Mandy, it is so wonderful to have you here. How are you?

[1:55] Mandy Gonzalez: I'm doing great.

[1:56] Jeryl Brunner: Great. It's wonderful to be back and to be talking to you. So I'm thrilled to be here. Well, let's talk about your lightning strikes moment when you knew you had to be an artist, or was it several moments in your life?

[2:12] Mandy Gonzalez: I think it continues to strike. Um, because it all kind of started for me when I was a kid, you know, and I'm the youngest of three. And both of my parents worked full-time. And I was very lucky on the weekends and during the week to be babysat by my Bubby. And she would listen to Broadway cast albums with me and watch old movie musicals. And really, I was the only grandchild that liked them and would sing back with her. And she immediately, I think, saw that I had a love of music and I had a talent. And I don't come from a showbiz family. And so definitely lightning struck her at that moment because she was like, she just went into the paper. You know, I'm from California. She went into the paper in Los Angeles and just looked for opportunities for me to perform.

And we had this place called the Showboat Dinner Theater that was down the street from her house in Tarzana, California. And you could go and you could eat like a buffet lunch and see a show. So I remember going with her very often to the Showboat Dinner Theater with my brother, who also had to tag along for everything. And they had all-you-can-eat pickles at the Showboat Dinner Theater. And we both love pickles. So my brother was like, okay, I'll go. And I mean, he didn't have a choice. So we saw Man of La Mancha, and the woman that played Aldonza, Susan, became my first singing teacher because my grandma went up to her afterwards and said, you know, my granddaughter has a talent. Do you teach singing lessons?

Will you teach her? And she said yes. And so my grandma would drive me every week for singing lessons, and that's where my journey began. But it was that moment of having somebody that loves you and is like your first teacher encourage you. So it was that first moment of encouragement where I thought, like, oh, I get a lot of attention doing this, and I love doing this, and I just want to do it all the time. And so I felt very lucky to have that first lightning strike be one that was with my grandma.

[4:39] Jeryl Brunner: That's so beautiful how your grandma was such a fearless warrior. Talk about fearless.

[4:46] Mandy Gonzalez: Yeah, she just calmly went up to the sleeper. My whole childhood was about how do I get my daughter, how do I get my granddaughter to perform? And you know, my mom didn't like going to a lot of the lessons because, you know, my brother did sports and things like that. And she didn't like having to wait in the waiting room because a lot of the parents do a lot of bragging and things like that. And my parents are both very quiet, and it used to bother her. And so she told my grandma, and my grandma's like, Well, I'll go. I don't care. And my grandma, you know, she couldn't hear them anyway. So my grandma would go and find these places for me to perform. And you know, one of those places was her living room, you know, like Mandy perform.

Like if we—my grandma, her family was from Poland, my grandfather's family was from Romania, and all of her parents came over, I guess like in the early 1900s. And so my grandmother was born in the States, and she was born in St. Louis, and they grew up in this small apartment, and everybody was musical. Everybody could play a musical instrument. My grandma was the one that sang and danced. So at when we had get-togethers at my grandparents' house, all of her brothers and sisters would come, and my grandma would just say, Mandy, sing, like get up and sing, and so I would. And it really provided me with just a love of this craft and made me just want to keep doing it all the time.

[6:32] Jeryl Brunner: It's so extraordinary. Do you remember one of the first times you performed on a stage outside of your grandpa?

[6:40] Mandy Gonzalez: I do. It was at that Showboat Dinner Theater. I played Bielke in Fiddler on the Roof, and I remember doing that part. My grandparents sitting at one of the tables and looking at them. So obviously I wasn't in the moment, I was just like living my life, kind of looking at them, going, isn't this great? Like, I'm in a show. But that's how it started for me at the Showboat Dinner Theater. That was my first time on a real stage where, you know, it was people other than my grandparents. So it wasn't like in a school play, it was actually professional theater, I guess at the Showboat Dinner Theater. I don't think they paid us anything. I mean, they do pay me for sure. But yeah, it was working with a lot of adults and going, having to go to rehearsal, having to learn, you know, all of the things like tradition, learn all of the musical numbers and dances, but that was definitely my first time.

[7:47] Jeryl Brunner: Is it hard to describe how singing makes you feel? Because I know how I feel when I listen to you, that ferocious belt, that gorgeous vibrato, you know, just it's magical listening to you sing.

[8:02] Mandy Gonzalez: Thank you so much.

[8:03] Jeryl Brunner: You're welcome. So, how does it make you feel when you sing?

[8:07] Mandy Gonzalez: I think that when I sing, I can go to a different place. First of all, the composers that write the music that I sing, I love telling stories. And I love being that vessel that is the one that tells the story to the audience. And so it's the lyrics that I look at first and the most. But then when I get to those notes where I can soar, it really is the closest I feel that I get to heaven, you know, that I get to—now, you know that my grandma's passed, I feel like it's the closest I get to her.

[8:51] Jeryl Brunner: Did she get to see you make your Broadway debut?

[8:55] Mandy Gonzalez: Oh, everything. Everything except Hamilton, because she lived a long time. She passed away on her birthday in 2019 at 97. So Hamilton was the only show that she did not get to see. But she saw every show. And when she would come and see a show, you know, because she couldn't get around that well, she would sit from the matinee to the evening show in the house. And the ushers would always let her stay, and she would become friends with everybody. Everybody loved my grandma. And she just loved it. She loved being in the theater, she loved being a part of it, and she loved going up and going to the other actors and telling them how wonderful they were, even though sometimes she didn't recognize them because of her, you know, she couldn't see that great. But she just loved people and she loved music. So anybody that did that, she wanted to kind of be around them.

[9:56] Jeryl Brunner: That's beautiful to see the dream realized. Yeah, with her being fearless, which brings me to these delicious characters you've written in your book Fearless. Tell me about what inspired this book.

[10:11] Mandy Gonzalez: Oh gosh. So many things. I mean, the library was kind of my sanctuary as a kid, and I think a lot of writers will say that. You know, it was the place you could go for free, and my mom would take us every weekend to the library, and you know, you would get a library card, and you just felt so important. And then I remember my mom would, you know, drop my brother and I—we were a year apart—would drop us off in the kids' section, and she would go into the adult section and she would say, okay, pick anything you want. And I just remember feeling like anything I want, you know. And she said, Well, you gotta give it back. But you know, having that moment of being able to pick a library book and having a whole new world open up to you.

It was honestly for my brother too, it was our favorite place to be, and it still is my local library where I live now. I'm constantly in there. I mean, since the pandemic, it's not been easy, but bookstores because I always find a new story that I can delve into and my imagination can just be taken away, which I love. And what really inspired me is, you know, similar to the main character in my book, Monica Garcia, I had a love, like I was talking about, of music and performing at a very young age. And I lucked out because I had a grandma who loved Broadway. And so she introduced me to that world and through, you know, cast albums and things that she could find that were tangible. And I remember constantly looking for characters and names that looked like mine.

And I tell you, I didn't have a lot of luck. And it was so important for me to write this novel and to create stories so that young people can see themselves to know that a life in the arts is possible.

[12:18] Mandy Gonzalez: It is so empowering to see yourself in a story. And so that was really my biggest inspiration in writing this book. And then, you know, as you know, going along, you know, all these treasures and people that I've met along the way, you know, I've been working on Broadway for the past 20 years, and I've loved every moment of performing, but it's really the stories and the people along the way that are the biggest part of your journey. And so being able to share that in my own way with young people is super—was so exciting. I'm in the midst of my second book right now of writing, so I'm kind of like still, you know, because this is part of a series. Right now I'm signed for two books with Simon and Schuster. I can't believe it. And so, but now I keep going with these stories that I love. But really that was my inspiration, and I just feel so lucky that it's out there.

[13:27] Jeryl Brunner: I love Monica and I love her connection to her abuelita. And also how you bring us behind the scenes in a very unique way, that you really get an understanding of what happens behind the footlights. There's that delicious character, Jimmy Onions, who I always see. Tell us about him because he's a legend.

[13:56] Mandy Gonzalez: Yes, absolutely. Jimmy Onions is inspired by Jimmy the Doorman over at the Richard Rodgers Theater, who has been a part of my life. You know, when I started at the Richard Rodgers within the heights, I can't remember what year we were there, maybe 2006 or maybe 2008. I can't remember when we started because we were doing off-Broadway and then the reading and all that stuff. So sometimes my dates are wrong. But I remember going with my mom and walking on Broadway and saying, Hey mom, because that's the thing when you start a new show that I got to put in the book. Can we just go and see the marquee or see the theater, you know, just to see that this is actually happening? And I remember my mom and I were standing in front of the Richard Rodgers for In the Heights, and Jimmy came outside and he said, You want to come in?

[14:52] Mandy Gonzalez: And I said, Um, yeah, hi, I'm Mandy Gonzalez. I'm gonna be in the show. And he goes, Oh, I'm Jimmy, you know, and that's just who he is. Uh, he knows everything about anything that's happening on Broadway. I mean, he's been working the door um at the Richard Rogers. I think he started as an usher, and then he's been working the door since he was 15. So he is the eyes and ears of Broadway. So I had to um I had to include him in this book. During Hamilton, I, you know, I asked his permission and I said, Jimmy, you know, I'm writing this book and I'd love to include you in the story. And would you be okay with that? And his reaction is so great. He's always like, Yeah, sure, sure. And uh I was so happy because I went to see him after I did my audio book in the city.

I was like, let me just go check out the theater and see if anybody's there. And sure enough, I rang the bell and it was Jimmy. And the crazy part is that he goes, You've got a package. He's like, You've got a package here. And I was like, What? I haven't been there in over a year. And he remembered that I had a package under all these other packages. And he was right. I did have a package there. But at that time we didn't have copies of the book. So I can't wait till I can go back into New York and hand him a copy. So I just, I'm so glad that young people are going to be able to fall in love with him as a friend. Yeah, he's such an advocate for Veronica. I mean, he's really in her corner. This is what's so beautiful is that she has all these people in her life who are really rooting for her and her journey.

Yes. And here she is brand new in New York. And uh well, that's one thing that you don't know when you're coming to New York. You know, I moved to New York uh with a dream, and I posted a picture of it recently on Instagram, like with a dream and a pair of overalls, because that's what I was wearing when I arrived, you know, in Times Square. And um, and I wear overalls a lot, but uh, you know, I didn't know how to do it. I had a dream and I was like, I had um, you know, the training from growing up. But you know, the thing that I didn't know was the family that I would build along the way, you know, not just my husband and my daughter, but my theater family. You know, every show that I've been in, um, somebody has completely changed my life with their friendship.

And so that's the thing that I miss, I think the most right now. Um, is walking down Eighth Avenue and seeing friends that you haven't seen from all the different shows. But uh the character Relly uh is inspired by my best friend, Darrell Grand Moultrie, who started on Broadway with me in Aida. We were um he was a swing, I was a standby for Idina Menzel, and we were in the swing room together and we shared a mirror. And we became best friends by the looks that we would give each other in the mirror by the things that people would say. And he has remained my constant friend um throughout, my best friend. And, you know, when I was writing this, he had to be a part of it. And so it's kind of fun that we get to uh in so many ways that he gets to go on these adventures with me because he's always been right there with me in anything that I've done.

And now, you know, he's done other Broadway shows since Aida, and now he's an acclaimed uh choreographer working with uh dance companies all around the world. And so um for kids to see that character, it brings me so much joy.

[18:50] Mandy Gonzalez: That's so extraordinary. What I for people who don't know you were one of the Harlettes with Bette Midler, right? Is that how you get you once told me this amazing story about staying at the Plaza Hotel, which I love, I love that story. Um when you were first in New York. Is that how you first got to New York? So I went to college in California. I wasn't really ready to leave home. I was very close to my family. And so I was like, well, I'll go. CalArts was in my um was in my town. And so I said, I'll go there. And so that way I can live at home and still be with my parents. And then, you know, when I was 15 years old, my grandma, um, I was with a different singing teacher that my grandma would drive me to.

And that singing teacher connected me with an accompanist uh because I was starting to, you know, perform songs and things like that. That accompanist, it turns out, was the um vocal arranger for Bette Midler's backup singers. And that um accompanist is named Bill Schneider, and he's still in Los Angeles. And when I was 15 years old, my grandma figured out how I would be able to perform my own show at the Cynagrill at the Roosevelt Hotel. And Bill Schneider um was the one who helped me put that show together. So he has been a part of my life ever since. And when I was in college, my first year, Bill called and said, you know, Bette's looking for new um new women for her show. Would you like to come and audition?

And I said, yeah. And I didn't know that audition meant going to wait in line for three hours because it was for an open call. Like, so I went to the open call and I kept making the cuts. You know, I bought this really cute outfit from Capizio, and I, you know, I had to dance and I had to sing, and I had to sing all three parts. I had to learn all three part harmony. And then I remember the second or third day of auditions, Bette came to that final audition. And I had to kind of do a sing-off with another singer. We had to do like a high harmony on Stay With Me, Baby. You know, and I was like 19. And uh, and Bette goes, can you do it, you know, another uh step higher? And I said, Yeah, and I did it.

And then she had the other woman do it too, and she couldn't do it, and so I got the job, and uh it completely changed my life because this kid that was always kind of afraid to leave home has lived the furthest, has uh has been the longest away from her family of all the kids in my family, and uh, but that was the show that took me away. And we went to um New York and we played Madison Square Garden and we played the Tri-State area, and uh Bette always put us up in the best. I remember uh somebody from her band said, it'll never be like this again. So just so you know, like not with Bette, but just other people you work for, like this is the top, you know, just appreciate it. And I'm so glad that he told me that because I mean I would have appreciated it anyway, but it really did make me appreciate what um how she treated us and how wonderful she was.

Uh, but she put us up at the Plaza Hotel when it was still a hotel, and I was just, you know, this is where I want to be. And so I saved my money from that tour, and I moved to uh I moved to New York and I moved to Brooklyn. I never stayed at the Plaza again. I hit the pavement and I went to open calls. I didn't have an agent, and I was just like, okay, I'm gonna make my dream happen. And uh I worked really, really hard. So my first off-off-Broadway production um happened. I was working two jobs. Uh I was working at Dean and DeLuca in the basement packing groceries for wealthy people. Um, and at night I worked at this restaurant called Rain East on the east side. And during the day, I would go to open calls.

And I went to an open call for the Vineyard Theater for a show called Eli's Coming, based on the music of Laura Nero. And I ended up getting that job. And it really changed, that was another lightning strike. It really changed my life. The fact that they found me at that open call. And I starred in that show opposite Anika Noni Rose, Judy Kuhn, Ronel Bay, Wilson Germain Heredia, and Diane Paulus was our director. And so Doug Abel and Cindy Tolan, the casting directors at the Vineyard Theater, they honestly changed my life. And that was my introduction to Broadway. And that happened about six months after I moved, uh after I moved here from California. And then from there, uh Disney Theatrical came to see that show.

I won an Obie Award uh for that show, and they cast me as the standby for Idina Menzel in Aida. And then from there, I did Dance of the Vampires that didn't last too long. So then they asked me to come back to Aida, but this time to replace Idina and then to star opposite of Toni Braxton and Will Chase in Aida. So I did that. Then I went and I did Lennon on Broadway, and uh that didn't last too long. But in the midst of that, I met incredible people. We went to San Francisco. It was awesome. And then um I was asked if I wanted to have a meeting with a young uh new composer who's writing a show about Latinos and it was gonna be starring Latinos. And would I like to go meet the creative team in the basement of the Drama Bookshop?

And I had been to the Drama Bookshop. If you're an actor, if you're in the arts in New York, that's a place that you go, as well as the New York Public Library. And uh, and so I said, yeah. And I walked into the basement. I had known Alex Lacamoire from another project that I had done, and I met Tommy Kail and Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes. And that also changed my life because they said, Oh yeah, like come do this reading for In the Heights and play Nina Rosario, and I did, and then I kept on with that show. You know, they did a workshop, and then uh it went on to Broadway. Uh, and now, you know, when is it in June? I guess it's becoming a film that everybody's gonna get to see.

A whole new generation's gonna fall in love with the music. And so um, you know, that creative team has definitely played such a big part in my life, not just as uh people that I work with, but like family people that I just absolutely adore and love.

[26:41] Mandy Gonzalez: What did you love about them? What did you love about it? Well, the first time um we did a reading of In the Heights, I remember Lin standing up and saying, Now I know you guys don't know any of the music, so I'm just gonna sing all of it. And he started, and it was like lights up by Washington Heights up at the break of day. And I was like, Who is this guy? And what is this? I've never heard anything like this before. I think that their ability to dream, uh, their loyalty and um their artistry. I think that those are the things that, and their humanity. I think those things all play a part in um in their success, in their ability to create projects that um that really can change the world. And I love how the songs are so magical.

And then with you say, you know, this and the song, when I think of the song Breathe, you know, what a special song that is. And weren't you involved early on in Hamilton? Yes, yes, I was, I was. I was asked, um, I had given birth to my daughter uh about two months before. Lynn was putting together um a collection of songs at Lincoln Center, um, like an evening of songs, and he wanted to do some new songs from Hamilton mixtape at the time. I think it was gonna be an album. And you know, when you get that call from Lin-Manuel and Alex Lacamoire, and they said, Hey, we're gonna meet at Lac's apartment. Do you want to come and do it? I was like, absolutely, you know, I was I was like breastfeeding and all those things, but I went to Bloomingdale's and because none of my clothes fit at that time, and I bought a dress and I was like, I'm there.

And I was the first person to sing um Say No to This with Lin, uh Mariah's song in the second act. And I just remember feeling like, well, first of all, I felt like I was home because I was with people that I adore. And I was also uh, you know, sharing the stage with Chris Jackson and just so many of our friends that had been along the journey with us. And so that just felt so good. And you know, and then when I saw Hamilton at the public with my husband, I mean, I was just in tears. I was like, this, they did it. This was incredible. And I remember when the show, when I first saw the show at the public, and everybody would enter, like Chris made an entrance, you know, in that first song, Lin made an entrance.

I cheered at all the entrances because they were all my friends. And people would give me the dirtiest looks, like, who are you? And why are you cheering? And I just laugh now because at Hamilton, that's really how it is. People cheer for all of those characters now. And uh, but at that time people were like, be quiet, this is serious. And you know, but those are my friends. I was just so so proud of them. What was it like to take over the role of Angelica? And what do you love about her? She's such a force. She is such a force. You're so you're so right. Um, you know, she when I got the call from Tommy, which you never get, um, those kind of calls when you're just asked to do a job, you don't have to audition.

That was like, you know, I tried to play it cool, and I was like, uh, yes, absolutely, please. And uh it was just so exciting, you know. Renee Elise Goldsberry, who is uh Tony Award winner and a friend, she did such an incredible job um being the first one to stand in that character, and so I was just so excited. I was so excited to be part of it and to be part of this journey at this time in America, and uh and I felt ready to be part of such a big um, such a huge production, you know, um, and to be the big sister kind of of the company that you know, younger company members who were just making their Broadway debut, um, that I was happy to be that person that people could come to to ask for advice or to just talk.

[30:03] Mandy Gonzalez: That was one of my favorite things. Um, whenever I would get to the theater during the day, you know, people coming into my dressing room and just telling me about their day, and especially my the women that played my sisters. Um, I miss that so much. And I know that um in my heart, I know it's gonna be back, and I know that it's gonna be better than ever. I think so much theater and so much um art. I just have this feeling that there's just gonna be this resurgence of art in the city. And I cannot wait for that. Um, you know, my husband is doing a show at Miles McEnry gallery, my husband's a painter, um, in September. And so I just feel like that's a good time for people to get out and see art and see what's been happening because artists have not stopped creating during this time. Um, you know, like you'd like this, even, you know, we've learned how to adapt and how to keep going.

[31:00] Jeryl Brunner: And yeah, what's kept you sane? What's kept you going?

[31:04] Mandy Gonzalez: Oh gosh, during this time. The thing that's kept me uh sane, honestly, is my family uh always. I think it's been very hard because I haven't been able to see my parents uh for over a year, or my sister or brother. But we do a Zoom call every Sunday uh to catch up. Uh and that's kept me sane. And then, you know, my husband and daughter. Uh my daughter has been homeschooled since uh the pandemic started last March and has not her district has not been back to school. They're gonna start this next week. But it's that it's having that responsibility of okay, you this you need to wake up for your child and make sure that they are taken care of and everybody's safe. And um, and so I think that that that has kept me sane and and I've enjoyed um I've looked tried to look for the bright side of everything, and I've really enjoyed being able to have dinner with my family every night um during this time because when you're an actor on Broadway, that's not a possibility at all. So I've enjoyed having that time together.

[32:14] Jeryl Brunner: And I love this movement you created, Fearless Squad.

[32:20] Mandy Gonzalez: Yeah.

[32:23] Jeryl Brunner: Absolutely. I mean, you have an album that was also so in that vein based on your fearlessness and your parents and but what what inspired hashtag Fearless Squad?

[32:38] Mandy Gonzalez: Well, you know, when I first started on Broadway, I would get letters to the theater uh from young people. Uh, as you did back then, snail mail. I would have time to write them back. And now with uh social media, everything is so immediate. So I and I always have my DMs open. I've learned, I'm learning always. And people would write me, um, not just young people, but parents would write me and with feelings of loneliness and needing a place to belong. And I felt so blessed in my own life to have a Fearless Squad that I call my own. And so I said, if you don't have a Fearless Squad, you can be part of mine. And I put out a hashtag uh and I called it Fearless Squad. And I had no idea that hundreds of thousands of people would want to be part of that from all over the world. And it really shows you the power of connection. It shows you how reaching out and connecting with somebody can change someone's life for the better.

[33:21] Mandy Gonzalez: And I had no idea that it would be me in the end that would need it the most. You know, I was diagnosed with breast cancer in October of 2019. And I was very private about it at first, uh, as you know, as anybody that um has been diagnosed with an illness knows it's very personal. And I really came to um the fact that I I wanted to be public about it uh because I I continued to do the show. I continued, um, I took a week off. Uh I had had had a lumpectomy and I took a week off to have that surgery. And then when I came back, I couldn't lift my arm for the work pose. And I asked my stage manager, I said, Well, is it okay if I if I just keep my arm down? And she goes, Mandy, you can lift your arm low and then medium, you just do what you can do. She was one of the only people I told. And then I decided um in January when I started uh chemotherapy, I had a hard time doing eight shows a week. You know, I'll be honest with you. I I could do about five.

[34:53] Mandy Gonzalez: Um it really saved me because I really wanted to feel a sense of normalcy during this process. I I never wanted cancer to define me, but I also couldn't avoid that it was now part of my story. And I decided that I wanted to go public because I wanted to my story to help people to educate them, to let them know that they're not alone. Very similar to my message with Fearless Squad. And to let them know that this can happen to anyone. This happened at my first mammogram. And mammograms getting tested is so, so important. And early detection can really save your life. And so I decided to use my platform for good. And I think that that has been a constant in my life. It's it's what I see from the example of the women in my life that have used the platform that they had with our family to um to do good in this world.

And so I think that this is my part of my journey. But the Fearless Squad has been by my side through all of it, you know, and to have to go through treatment for breast cancer during a pandemic was not easy. Um it really sucked, but I made it. I made it through.

[36:21] Mandy Gonzalez: And so I hope my story um, and it's not just about uh, you know, making it to the other side. And you know, we all have different stages that we go through when going through an illness, but it's about putting one foot in front of the other. And um, if I can do it, you can do it too.

[36:43] Jeryl Brunner: It's so beautiful, Mandy. Thank you for sharing. My heart goes out to you. And not to be so dramatic. And how extraordinary that you're encouraging women to get mammograms.

[36:54] Mandy Gonzalez: Because I know you said that saved your life.

[36:57] Mandy Gonzalez: It did. You know, I went into the I went into the doctor. I had just turned 40, and my doctor said, Well, there's no history of breast cancer in your family, but you're eligible to get a mammogram at this age. Is that something you want to do? It was a choice. And I was very lucky because I said, yes, I want to have a mammogram now. And, you know, it turned out that they found uh a tumor. And um, you know, I'm the first one in my family. And when I was filling out my genetic um information for uh the doctors, I realized that I had a lot of information on my mother's side. Um, that side is Jewish, Ashkenazi, and um everybody kind of talked about different things, what they had had, and uh not that they weren't private, but you just knew I knew what everybody had.

But on my father's side, my Mexican side, I didn't know. Um, I had to call a lot of people and ask, um, has this happened to you? Or and to also let them know that this happened to me. Um, please let my primas know, my my cousins know that this is possible.

[38:11] Mandy Gonzalez: So make sure you get tested because Latinas, the Latinx community is so underrepresented in um breast cancer research. So it's important that they know that this is very important. Um it's very important for you to get a mammogram any way that you can. If you feel something that doesn't feel right and you're below the age that they say is eligible, I've now met friends that were diagnosed in their 20s, diagnosed in their 30s. You listen to your heart and you go in and get a mammogram because it can save your life. It doesn't mean it's the end.

[38:44] Jeryl Brunner: That's right. Do you mind sharing that story about your parents meeting?

[38:49] Mandy Gonzalez: I love that story and how that inspired the beautiful song, Fearless that Lynn wrote. My parents have been married now 50 years. But my parents met as pen pals uh during the Vietnam War. They grew up, uh they both grew up in California. They grew up in very um different kinds of worlds, I would say, because uh my father grew up uh as a Mexican American uh in Northern California. Uh his family came over from Mexico and they followed the crop. Uh they were farm workers. I'm the proud granddaughter of farm workers, and um that's why it was so important for me to include them. Uh, that story also in in my book uh that Monica Garcia's family um are farm workers. But my father's family uh settled in Northern California because my abuelito got a job as a foreman.

My mother grew up uh Jewish American in uh the valley of California, Southern California. And my father was drafted at 19 years old and drafted to Vietnam. And he was, you know, sent away from home for the first time, the first time on a plane, the first time away from his family to war.

[40:06] Mandy Gonzalez: And my mother really wanted to join the Peace Corps. She was 17, and her parents said no, absolutely not. And so she did the next best thing. She asked how she could help. And uh there was a program where you could write letters to soldiers who maybe didn't have anybody writing to them. And my father was one of those people, and they corresponded throughout my father's service in Vietnam and then his service afterwards, um in uh the National Guard. And then when my dad went back to Northern California after his service, he got in his car and he drove to my mom's house and he showed up on our doorstep. And my grandparents were like, What? Who is this? This this man, and my my parents instantly fell in love, you know, and um, but because they were from different cultures, um my Jewish uh grandparents were not very uh accepting of my father and um that side of my culture, and um, because it was different and they were afraid, they didn't know, you know. But my mom said, This is who I want to be with, and um, they ended up eloping.

[41:24] Mandy Gonzalez: And my mother, I remember she told me that she was like, I'm not gonna go back and see my parents because they didn't accept us. I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna go back. And my father said, Um, as my father is a gentle person, he said, Those are your parents, and we're going back. And so I grew up never knowing any of this because like I grew up with a bubby, I grew up with an abuelita, like I grew up with both sides of my family being very loving towards all of us. So I feel so lucky that they were brave to to follow their heart, but also that um that they made they changed uh the family by their love, you know, and yeah, they've been together almost 50 years, and she's incredible.

[42:12] Jeryl Brunner: That's incredible, and then coming full circle your Bubby is the one right that's it's your mother's mother your maternal grandmother took you on all those auditions.

[42:12] Mandy Gonzalez: Exactly and my father my father used to sing uh when he was younger a teenager he was in a band called the Enchantments which I think is such a great name and he uh stopped singing after he came back from the war and then when he met my mother he decided that he was going to sell his microphone and his amp because it was time he felt to to get a job and this is what he want the thing that he wanted the most was a family and my mother and and so you know without him though I would never have this voice you know that definitely comes from him.

[43:01] Jeryl Brunner: How extraordinary where do you see yourself in five years? Is it hard to picture where you'd love to be?

[43:05] Mandy Gonzalez: I think like uh all artists I I think it's very important that when you for me when I finish a project I'm always looking to see what I can do next to what I can better myself at so the thing that I would love to be doing I think in five years is creating stories and creating more stories and um and building uh projects uh for young people whether that be uh through my books whether that be on TV or television um the thing that I think the thing that's been instilled in me from a a young age of um I I would love to see come to fruition in about five years.

[43:55] Jeryl Brunner: Mandy, it's been so wonderful to have you on the show. Always a treat to talk to you and inspiring.

[44:01] Mandy Gonzalez: Thank you so much.

[44:03] Jeryl Brunner: And I can't wait to see you on me again live.

[44:07] Mandy Gonzalez: I'll see you on Eighth Avenue. I'll give I'll give you the biggest hug.

[44:10] Jeryl Brunner: Have a wonderful day.

[44:11] Mandy Gonzalez: Thank you.

[44:12] Jeryl Brunner: Thank you.

[44:13] Mandy Gonzalez: Thank you.

[44:19] Jeryl Brunner: The theme song was written by Tod McGovern. This episode was edited by Kyle Moore, and the talent was booked by Anna Strauss.

[44:28] Jeryl Brunner: Lightning strikes.